Pakistan board fines Zulqarnain Haider

Zulqarnain Haider, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper, has been fined 500,000 rupees ($5,800) by the PCB for violating their code of conduct when he flew to London last November, mid-way through a series in the UAE, without informing the team management. Haider appeared before the PCB disciplinary committee, comprising Sultan Rana, Wasim Ahmed and Mohammad Awais, on Friday in Lahore.

After the two-hour hearing Rana, the committee's head, said Haider will also be put under probation. "Zulqarnain will also be under a one-year probation period, during which his conduct will be observed."

The PCB said Haider had no proof of any wrongdoing against any player or official of the board, and withdrew all his allegations.

Haider had gone missing from the Pakistan team's hotel in Dubai on the morning of the fifth ODI against South Africa on November 8, and later said he had received death threats from unidentified people seeking to draw him into match-fixing.

Haider said his decision to flee was a mistake. "I did what I thought was right at that time. With the passage of time I realised that I committed a mistake. I should have informed the PCB, I should have informed my seniors."

He said he is looking forward to resume his career. "I just want to play cricket. [But] It all depends on the selection committee, whether they pick me for the national team or not."

In the aftermath of his flight, Haider had filed an application for asylum in the UK, which hinged on the nature of the information he was able to divulge, as the extraordinary nature of his case appeared to fall outside the usual conditions required of a person seeking refugee status. He had also announced his retirement from international cricket. However, he withdrew his application for asylum and returned to Pakistan in April this year, after receiving safety assurances from the country's interior minister Rehman Malik.